The Party Democracy Index 2013

The development of the questionnaire was guided by the basic principle that democracy is a multifaceted concept that encompasses multiple dimensions: participation/inclusiveness, representation, competition, responsiveness and accountability, and transparency.

Participation/inclusiveness and competition are basic to any basic minimal definition of democracy. Representation, too (in the sense that it reflects the voting public and their opinions), is certainly a vital element of modern representative democracy. In addition, for an elected regime to be democratic, it must have transparency, so that its actions can be monitored. Similarly, there must be a certain degree of responsiveness (in this case, responsiveness to the institutions of the party).

The questionnaire, therefore, reflects a view that, on the one hand, ascribes great importance to the existence of democracy within parties, and sees democracy at this level as bolstering democracy in general. At the same time, however, it holds that democracy has many facets, and that political parties, as voluntary organizations with voluntary qualities, can choose to balance these dimensions in accordance with their own worldview and at their own discretion.

The questionnaire used in this study was used to evaluate the degree of internal democracy in Israeli political parties. For purposes of comparison, it was also used to evaluate internal democracy in six major parties in other democracies. Based on the answers to the questionnaire, each party was awarded points on a scale of 0–100, with 0 representing no internal democracy whatsoever and 100 representing maximum internal democracy. The analysis was conducted by two independent coders who had received appropriate training. They then compared their answers, identified the points of disagreement, and brought them to the broader framework of our research group at the Israel Democracy Institute for a decision. As agreed in advance, in borderline cases or cases in which we were not sure, we gave the parties the benefit of the doubt.

The questionnaire included questions related to each of the dimensions that our research team identified as basic to democracy:

• Participation/Inclusiveness – The questions related to participation/inclusiveness examine the extent to which the party includes broad circles of its members when it chooses its leader and Knesset candidates and when it drafts its platform or its ideological/policy guidelines. It should be noted that the questions strike a balance between a dichotomous view that sees all organizations as either democratic or nondemocratic (this view is anchored in the legal codes of certain democratic countries, such as Germany and New Zealand), and the view that believes that democratic participation can be measured on a continuous scale and becomes greater as the size of the group that participates in its decision-making increases.
• Representation – The questions related to representation address, first of all, the proportion of women in the party's current Knesset faction and on its list for the next Knesset. With regard to the latter, we are interested not only in the number of women in realistic slots, but also in their relative positioning on the list. In addition, we consider whether the party's constitution or bylaws reserve positions for representatives of other sectors on its Knesset list.
• Competition – With regard to competition, the questionnaire asks whether the party held elections for the party chair and whether there have been elections for party institutions in recent years.
• Responsiveness and Accountability – The questions that relate to responsiveness and accountability consider whether elected party institutions are authorized to take part in key party decisions—the choice of ministers, joining and leaving the government coalition, and determining policy—and examine whether these institutions were convened during the last two years.
• Transparency – The questions related to transparency examine how difficult or easy it is to obtain a copy of the party's constitution or bylaws—that is, the document that stipulates the party's basic rules of conduct. They also consider what information about the party is available on its website or Facebook page.

The Party Democracy Index Questionnaire (0–100 points)

This questionnaire is intended to assess the level of democracy within an Israeli political party in advance of the 2013 elections for the 19th Knesset.

1. Participation/Inclusiveness (30%)

1.1 Who chooses the party leader? (5%)

1. A group of elected representatives (central committee, convention, council) or all members of the party (5 points)
2. A small inner circle of the party elite or a single leader (0 points)

1.2 Who chooses the party leader? (5%)

1. A single leader (0 points)
2. A small inner circle (1 point)
3. Elected representatives (3 points)
4. All members of the party (4 points)
5. All citizens of voting age (5 points)

1.3 Who selects the members of the party's Knesset list? (5%)

1. A group of elected representatives (central committee, convention, council) or all members of the party (5 points)
2. A small inner circle of the party elite or an elected leader (0 points)

1.4 Who of the following can take part in selecting the party's Knesset list? (5%)

1. A single leader (0 points)
2. A small inner circle (1 point)
3. Elected representatives (3 points)
4. All members of the party (4 points)
5. All citizens of voting age (5 points)

1.5 Who of the following participates in writing or approving the party platform? (5%)

1. The party doesn't have a platform (0 points)
2. A single leader (1 point)
3. A small inner circle (2 points)
4. Elected representatives (3 points)
5. All members of the party (4 points)
6. All citizens of voting age (5 points)

1.6 Who of the following took part in ideological debates conducted by the party in recent years? (5%)

1. The party doesn't conduct ideological debates (0 points)
2. Elected representatives (3 points)
3. All members of the party (4 points)
4. All citizens of voting age (5 points)

2. Representation (20%)

2.1 What percentage of realistic slots on the party list are filled by women? (For an old party, the calculation of realistic spots is based on the number of seats the party received in the last elections; for a new party, it is based on the last poll before the list was selected.) (5%)

1. More than 45% (5 points)
2. 35%–44% (4 points)
3. 25%–34% (3 points)
4. 15%–24% (2 points)
5. 5%–14% (1 point)
6. Less than 5% (0 points)

2.2 What is the value of the women ranking index of female Knesset candidates (i.e., not just the number of women in realistic slots, but also their placement on the list)? (5%)

1. > 0.45 (5 points)
2. 0.35–0.44 (4 points)
3. 0.25–0.34 (3 points)
4. 0.15–0.24 (2 points)
5. 0.05–0.14 (1 point)
6. < 0.05 (0 points)

2.3 What is the percentage of women in the party's current Knesset faction? (5%) (For a new party, the coders should assign 7.5% rather than 5 points to each of the previous two questions.)

1. More than 45% (5 points)
2. 35%–44% (4 points)
3. 25%–34% (3 points)
4. 15%–24% (2 points)
5. 5%–14% (1 point)
6. Less than 5% (0 points)

2.4 Does the party employ special mechanisms (such as reserved positions or districts) to guarantee representation for the following sectors on its Knesset list? (10%)

1. Ethnic minorities (Arabs) or religious minorities (Muslims, Christians, Druze) (2 points)
2. Recent immigrants (2 points)
3. Senior citizens (2 points)
4. Young adults (2 points)
5. Residents of the geographical periphery (2 points)

3. Competition (20%)

3.1 Has there been a contest (with two or more candidates) for the position of party leader since the last general elections? (10%)

1. Yes (10 points)
2. No (0 points)

3.2 Have there been elections for the party institutions (convention, council, central committee) during the last four years? (10%)

1. Yes (10 points)
2. No (0 points)

4. Responsiveness and Accountability (15%)

4.1 Does the party have an elected representative institution (e.g., a central committee, convention) and has it met at least once in the last two years? (5%)

1. a. Yes (5 points)
2. b. No (0 points)

4.2 Do the party's institutions... (10%)

1. Take part in selecting the party's representatives in the Government? (yes = 4 points; no = 0 points)
2. Approve whether the party joins or leaves the coalition? (yes = 3 points; no = 0 points)
3. Conduct debates about policy matters? (yes = 3 points; no = 0 points)

5. Transparency (15%)

5.1 How easy is it to obtain a copy of the party constitution or bylaws? (5%)

1. The up-to-date text of the constitution or bylaws is available on the party website or was sent out after the first request was made. (5 points)
2. The text of the constitution or bylaws was obtained only after a number of requests. (3 points)
3. The text of the constitution or bylaws was not obtained even after repeated requests. (0 points)

Following are the ratings of the parties evaluated as part of this study, in decending order of party democracy. It should be noted that some of the parties are running in the 2013 elections as part of joint lists. Total scores are out of a possible total of 100 points.

It should be noted that there is no connection between the size of the party and the level of its internal democracy. In addition, parties that exhibit robust internal democratic processes exist across the political spectrum.

Israeli Parties

• Labor: 86
• Likud: 75
• Meretz: 74
• Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home):64
• Balad: 61
• Maki (Hadash): 55
• Hatikvah (Otzma LeYisrael): 51
• Kadima: 43
• Yisrael Beytenu: 38
• Yesh Atid: 23
• Ta'al: 16
• Shas: 15
• National Union: 10
• Hatnua: 8
• Am Shalem: 6
• Mada (Ra'am): 2
• Agudat Yisrael: 2
• Degel Hatorah: 2
• Mada (Ra'am): 2

A breakdown of each party's score on each of the five dimensions studied can be found on the infograph at the bottom of this page.

Parties Abroad

The following parties were studied for purposes of comparison:

• Conservative Party (Great Britain)
• Labour Party (Great Britain)
• Conservative Party (Canada)
• Liberal Party (Canada)
• Fine Gael (Ireland)
• Labour Party (Ireland)

The average score for these six parties was 61.